Book Blitz for My Best Four Years by Megan Linski with a GIVEAWAY

 

My Best Four Years
Megan Linski
Publication date: September 11th 2026
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Young Adult

USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR Megan Linski paints a hallmark to grief in this story of a heartbreaking best friend break up that’s emotionally unforgettable.

Aria and Lucky are two best friends who managed to survive high school, though not everyone did. They live in a small town that’s determined to destroy everyone’s dreams, but when they’re together, the two girls soar. The adults in their lives swear there’s no way out of their tiny hometown, but Aria and Lucky promise each other they’re going to run away together, believing the music they make is going to change the world.

Until one of them leaves, and the other stays. Aria finds herself looking back on her past, struggling to find where she belongs in a place that wishes to stomp out her light. Lucky’s rise and fall is brighter than a supernova, dazzling and destroying whatever it touches.

Then the unthinkable happens, and their friendship is left in the remnants of what comes after.

Lucky promised Aria forever. But forever turns out to be far shorter than either of them thought it could be.

An honest, endearing novel, My Best Four Years is a devastating portrayal of the power of unconditional friendship, and the loss that is felt when those we love are left behind.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

“Are you ready for this?” Lucky asked. The rhinestones on her guitar glimmered as she slipped the strap over her shoulder. We were behind a curtain that led to the small stage of a local bar, where a dozen patrons clattered about. We’d been selected as the headlining act for a band that played regularly on Friday nights, and we were so nervous.

Lucky’s face was pale white. I was sure mine looked the same. Our first live show. I couldn’t believe this was happening.

“It’s our time,” I said confidently. “Let’s get out there.”

The curtain was pulled aside, and we strode on stage in unison as the announcer introduced us. I took my stance at the keyboard, took a deep breath, and began to sing.

We started off strong, and got an enthusiastic response from the crowd during the first song. The next song was a little shaky, but the longer we played, the more confident we became, until we’d nearly gone through every song we’d created. The crowd was really getting into the music.

As I played the keyboard, somebody caught my eye from the corner of the bar. The most handsome man I’d ever seen was leaning on the counter. He might’ve been a few years older than I was. I was absolutely captivated by his appearance, so much so that I nearly missed a note on the melody.

When I met his blue eyes, he gave me a smile. I bashfully looked down when we finished the song, and we went to take a bow as we wrapped up the show. The applause in the room was so loud, I could hardly hear myself think. The curtain was drawn, and I felt shaky on my feet as I realized we’d actually done it. We’d pulled off our first performance!

“That was amazing!” Lucky cheered. “I loved every minute! The lights, the stage! It made me feel so alive!”

“It was incredible,” I gushed. “I’m so proud of us, Lucky!”

I gave her a squealing hug. We cheerfully hopped off stage, then headed to the bar to get a drink. People clapped us on the back and congratulated us as we walked through the bar, thanking us for the performance.

While we were sipping on virgin cocktails, Lucky’s phone rang. She picked it up, a huge smile spread across her face. “Hello, Carla! Yeah, we just got done! It was amazing. I wish you were here to see it…”

Her words trailed off. The smile slid off Lucky’s face. After a few moments, she nodded, and hung up the phone with a vacant gaze.

“It’s Carla,” she said. “She’s in the parking lot waiting to pick me up. She says we have to talk.”

Author Bio:

Megan Linski is a USA TODAY Bestselling Author who lives in Michigan. She is the author of more than sixty fantasy and paranormal novels which feature themes of friendship, community, and healthy romantic relationships. She has over fifteen years of experience writing books alongside working as a journalist and editor. She graduated from the University of Iowa, where she studied Creative Writing.

Her passions include ice skating and horseback riding. In her free time she enjoys dancing in the snow and drinking fancy coffee while at her natural habitat, the mall.

Megan advocates for the rights of the disabled, and is an activist for mental health awareness.

Megan co-writes the Hidden Legends Universe with Alicia Rades. She also writes under the pen name of Natalie Erin for the Creatures of the Lands series, co-authored by Krisen Lison.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / TikTok

GIVEAWAY!

My Best Four Years Blitz

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Book Review & Release Blitz for Holding Ground by Piper Rayne

 

Holding Ground by Piper Rayne is now live! I’ve been a single dad for five years. Then the wrong woman rented the guest cabin behind my house, and I knew right then she was going to ruin everything. When Baylor's mother walked out, I made a promise—I'd be enough. Just the two of us. No one to disappoint her. No one else to leave. Then Emelia Greene rolled into Echo Lake in a Mercedes and a power suit to convince the townspeople to change what makes our small town great. She’s everything this place isn't. Emelia's not supposed to be kind. She's not supposed to be good with my daughter. She's definitely not supposed to be the one I find myself confiding in at the end of my dock every night. She's leaving in three months. I know that. The problem is, I can't stop wondering what it would be like if a woman like her belonged in a place like this. In a life like mine. My Thoughts:   I am a Piper Rayne fan and am so excited for this new series.  The Mercer family is a family full of heartbreaking history but they have stuck together and lifted each other up, protected each other, and called each other out.  I cannot wait to continue reading this series.  Holding Ground is a single dad romance that takes place in a small town.   I loved it all.   Every word, every relationship, the characters…everything is perfect.  Baylor, Elliott’s daughter, is the best.  Her spunk, her spirit, and her freeness made me laugh and smile every time she was in the scene.   I love how she said what she was thinking, loved wholeheartedly, and was a typical little girl.  Elliott encouraged her freeness and is an amazing dad.    The romance of Elliott and Emilia is a hate to love relationship.  From the first look Elliott did not like Emilia, he knew that she was going to shake up his carefully kept world but could not stay away.   Emilia is a moral character.   She spoke the truth, kept to her truths, and understood Elliotts need to be careful, especially where Baylor was involved.  Thank you Valentine PR for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited https://books2read.com/holdingg Duet Narration by: Jason Clarke & Callie Dalton Also Featuring: Connor Crais, JF Harding, Aaron Shedlock & Jill Smith Goodreads: https://bit.ly/40RJVRR

Spotlight for The Enigmatic Madam Ingram by Meihan Boey

 

Miss Cassidy #2

The Enigmatic Madam Ingram by Meihan Boey

Published:   September 8, 2026 by Harper Perennial

Genre:  Fantasy, Historical FIction

Taken from Goodreads:  In this exciting sequel to the multi-award-winning novel, The Formidable Miss Cassidy, Letty Ingram, a half-Malayan lady raised in the UK, has suffered under a strange curse her whole life. Her beautiful and fearsome mother, from an unknown island in the Malay Archipelago, is the key to the mystery. Letty arrives in Singapore in 1906 to seek the help of the Chinese medium, Madam Kay. But Madam Kay’s whole family gets involved, including her sister, her father…and their unusual mutual friend, the formidable Miss Cassidy.

Author Meihan Boey illustrates the lengths Letty will go to in order to save her own soul, and reveals how Miss Cassidy's past has caught up with her, in the shape of a worthy opponent: a terrifying jungle spirit the native folk call the Bungadarah.

 

Purchase your own copy on Amazon

 

Meet the Author:   Meihan Boey is the author of novels The Formidable Miss Cassidy (co-winner of the 2021 Epigram Books Fiction Prize and winner of the 2022 Singapore Book Award for Best Literary Work) and The Enigmatic Madam Ingram (finalist for the 2023 Epigram Books Fiction Prize), and science fiction novella The Messiah Virus. She is also the vice president of the Association of Comic Artists of Singapore and has scripted several comics, including Supacross and The Once and Marvellous DKD. She is a dedicated comic book and manga fan, an enthusiastic gamer, a persistent triathlete, and not yet a Super Saiyan, though she keeps trying.

 

 

Book Review for Fury in Death by J.D. Robb

 

In Death #63

Fury in Death by  J.D. Robb

Published:  September 8, 2026 by St. Martin's Press

Genre:  Mystery Thriller

Taken from Goodreads:  In the new crime thriller from the #1 New York Times-bestselling author, Lt. Eve Dallas journeys into the darkness where murder is born…

NYSPD homicide detective Eve Dallas never knows what to expect when she gets word of a body. It could be an elderly man who made the mistake of climbing a ladder in slippery footwear. And the next call could be a wealthy biotech executive beaten to death in his home office—but what was Larry Chu’s mistake?

The victim’s corpse is so mangled and damaged it’s hard to believe a lone, unarmed assailant could have managed it. The killer was clearly unnaturally strong—and smart enough to find a way into Chu’s highly secure building. Most of all, whoever did this was very, very angry.

The excessive violence leads Dallas to conclude that this was a deeply personal act, born of a rage that she can’t excuse but can understand thanks to her own traumatic past. And though the motive seems rooted in heated emotion rather than cold hard cash, she can’t ignore the suspicious bank account in the Cayman Islands, or the shadowy, profit-hungry company Chu worked for. The mystery only grows when it turns out Chu isn’t the only victim—and Dallas will need to tear through one layer of secrecy after another to reveal what lies behind this explosion of fury...

 

My Thoughts:  J.D. Robb’s In Death series is one that I have actually read all 63 books.   Each book is its own story but the characters and settings are consistent throughout the entire series.   Eve and Roarke along with Peabody and the rest of the NYPD work to solve a case.  The friendships and relationships are the reason that I continue to read the series. 

When I pick up a J.D. Robb book, I know that I will reconnect with characters that I like and want to get to know better.   I return to NYPD and the amazing cops with their skills to solve any case that comes their way.   I get to see what craziness Mavis is into, how Peabody’s cohab is coming along, and so much more.   I get to see how Eve’s police mind works as she solves the crime that the book is written around.  Roarke works with her but also makes sure that he takes care of his cop.   This series is like coming home for me.  I look forward to every addition to this series.

Thank you St.Martin’s Press for a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

Purchase your own copy on Amazon

Spotlight for The Ballad of the Fugitive William Parker: A True Tale of Love, Murder, Treason, and Ordinary Folks Who Saved America by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz

The Ballad of the Fugitive William Parker: A True Tale of Love, Murder, Treason, and Ordinary Folks Who Saved America  by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz

Published:   September 8, 2026 by Simon & Schuster

Genre:  Non-fiction, Biography

Taken from Goodreads:  For fans of Master Slave Husband Wife and Django Unchained comes the extraordinary forgotten story of an event known in its day as “the first shots of the Civil War,” from the New York Times bestselling author of Dr. Mütter’s Marvels.

The year, 1851. The place, a Quaker farming community turned Underground Railroad stronghold, where a Maryland enslaver had journeyed in pursuit of four men who’d fled his plantation years before. In a few hours, he’d be dead… and twenty-seven men from the village of Christiana would be rounded up and put on trial. Not for his murder, but for treason—for waging war against the United States, at a time when it was a crime against the government to obstruct an enslaver looking to reclaim his ‘property.’

This is story of what happened in Christiana that September morning—and in the ensuing ‘trial of the century,’ which saw the president himself advise the prosecution on strategy and a sitting congressman serve as lead attorney for the defense. But The Ballad of the Fugitive William Parker is also a much larger tale, one spanning decades, following a whole startlingly diverse community of abolitionists in their fight to convince their fellow Americans of the subversive idea that now found itself on that the nation ought to live up the ideals it was founded on, and respect all men as equals.

It’s a story that whisks readers from the quiet farmlands of Lancaster County—where a self-emancipated man named William Parker, whom legend had it bullets could not kill, rallied his neighbors to ride out each night to battle the slavecatchers who stalked their countryside—to Philadelphia’s genteel Society Hill, where socialite Harriet Forten Purvis had the ear of the mayor (and a cellar filled with fugitives). It’s stylish, propulsive, intimately human tale of bravery, ingenuity, and hope—and of ordinary people with little in common who came together to stand against injustice… and won.

Purchase your own copy on Amazon

Meet the Author (Taken from her website):  Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz is the author of three nonfiction books and eight collections of poetry. Her forthcoming nonfiction book, The Ballad of the Fugitive William Parker,, is the extraordinary forgotten story of an event known in its day as “the first shots of the Civil War”—a stylish, propulsive, intimately human tale of farmers, socialites and self-emancipated folks with little in common who came together to stand against injustice… and won. 

 Her previous nonfiction book, Dr Mutter’s Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine, spent three months on the New York Times best seller list, and screenplays based on the book has won awards at the Philadelphia Film Festival, Hamptons International Film Festival, the Sloan Foundation, and the Black List. Her first nonfiction book, Words In Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City was named a “Poetry Book of the Year” by The Washington Post.

 Cristin’s eight collections of poetry span her entire writing life, beginning with Dear Future Boyfriend, published while she was still an undergrad at New York University; and Hot Teen Sl*t, her memoir-in-verse about her first job out of college: working as an editor for an “adult” website in the early days of the internet. Her next three collections –Working Class Represent; Oh, Terrible Youth; and Everything is Everything – cover her upbringing in Philadelphia as well as the 15 years she spent as a poet and organizer in New York City. The Year of No Mistakes, her memoir-in-verse about the break-up of a long term relationship, was named the Texas Poetry Book of the Year by the Writers League of Texas. Her next two collections, How to Love the Empty Air and Against Vanishing, completed her Texas triology.

 Cristin graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied screenwriting and playwriting. She ran the NYC-Urbana Poetry Slam – first out of CBGBs, and later out of the Bowery Poetry Club – while working as a permission’s assistant at the Artists Rights Society in Lower Manhattan. Her poetry and nonfiction work have appeared in Atlantic Monthly, [more], and other publications. Awards including a fellowships and residencies in association with the National Endowment for the Arts, the University of Pennsylvania, Hedgebrook, and the Amy Clampitt House, among others. 

 Cristin lives in her hometown of Philadelphia with her husband, the novelist Ernest Cline, and their family.

Book Review for Protected from Torment by Gia Cobie

 Blade & Arrow Shadow Team

Protected from Torment by Gia Cobie

Published:  September 8, 2026

Taken from Amazon:  Two wounded hearts. Two people who’d given up on love. And a chance meeting that brought them together.

When we met during a storm, I was struck by her bravery.

Afterwards, when Melissa told me who she was, I could tell she was expecting me to judge her.

But how could I when I knew all too well the pain she’d gone through, and how it could make you think of doing things you’d otherwise never consider?

On top of that, I just liked her. That’s why I gave her my number. And that’s why, when she calls me from the other side of the country, hurt and in trouble, I don’t think twice about going to help her.

I wasn’t sure I deserved his help. But I asked for it anyway.

After a violent attack, I didn’t know where else to turn. Not to my parents, who’d I’d already put through enough. Not to the so-called friends who turned their backs on me.

When I called Tyler, I half expected him to refuse me. But he didn’t. Instead, he dropped everything to come to my side.

I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised that the wounded warrior I met during a storm would insist on protecting me. Instead, the surprise was falling in love with him.

Protected from Torment is the story of two wounded people who gave up on love, only to find it again when they least expect it. It features a wounded warrior hero and a heroine searching for redemption, a team of Army veterans, found family, forced proximity, thrilling twists, and a guaranteed HEA. Can be read as a standalone.

 

My Thoughts:  Protected from Torment is the first book I have read in this series.  I now need to go back and read the rest of the books in the series. Not because I missed out on anything in this book but because the characters in this book are ones that I really want to know more about and reading the past books in this series might give me that.   

This book is a story of finding love after giving up. Showing up for each other when it really counts.    Tyler shows up for Melissa when she calls for help but Melissa also shows up for Tyler when he does not even know he needs her.  His protectiveness was a lot but she thrived with him so it worked for them.  

Thank you to Gia Cobie, the author, for a copy of the book via BookFunnel in exchange for my honest review.

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

Purchase your own copy on Amazon

Meet the Author (taken from her website): Gia Cobie is an Amazon best-selling and award-winning author living in upstate New York with her husband and pets. In her spare time, Gia enjoys reading and spending time in the Adirondacks, and also has a soft spot for reality romance shows and buying too many books. Gia loves writing about protective heroes and strong heroines who always find their much-deserved happy endings.

Book Review for Mother Daughter Sister Stranger by Hank Phillippi Ryan

 

Mother Daughter Sister Stranger by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Published:  September 1, 2026 by Minotaur Books

Genre:  Mystery Thriller, Psychological Thriller

Taken from Goodreads:  What happens when the past rises from the ashes to destroy you?

Eliza Ramsey and her sister Bea are the sole survivors of the fiery plane crash that killed their parents—and share a bond they vow is unbreakable. But now, eleven years later, on the exact anniversary of the tragedy, Bea fails to retrieve her pre-teen daughter from a sleepover at Eliza’s. Eliza knows her sister would never leave her precious Piper behind—even in her care—and fears the worst.

Piper is confused at her mother’s absence. Her father, Bea's recent ex, is out of town and uninterested in Bea’s whereabouts. Police are dismissive. But Eliza is terrified. Especially as it becomes clear that Bea might have planned her own disappearance.

The Ramsey’s lives have already crashed and burned once—and now, Eliza discovers she must protect her niece from the horrifying truth about her family’s sinister history—and together, they must prevent their lives from going up in in flames once again.

A missing influencer. Her frightened daughter. And a sister on a desperate search for a happy ending. But someone knows the deadly key to their shared past—and now won’t stop until they’ve written a terrifying final chapter. Mother, daughter, sister—stranger.

 

My Thoughts:  Mother Daughter Sister Stranger is a phenomenal psychological thriller.  The idea that a devoted mother would leave her daughter with her aunt and just disappear is not new, but the rest of this story is not one that I have read before.   There are so many twists and turns that I could not even begin to guess which direction the author was going to take me next.   There were times that I thought I knew what would happen next but rarely was I correct. 

I liked that Eliza, the aunt, never gave up on Bea, the mother.   She knew that Piper, the daughter/niece, needed her mom back and that her mom would never leave her.   Eliza was not Piper’s mom, but with Bea being gone she stepped into the role and kept Piper safe.  Eliza and Piper’s relationship is perfect in this story.  Eliza kept Piper in the know without giving her too much information causing her to worry more about her mom. 

Hank Phillippi Ryan is a must-read thriller author.   I always get excited when she has a book being released and know that it will be an automatic purchase.  

Thank you to the author, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

Purchase your own copy on Amazon

Book Blitz for The Last Summerville by Annabelle Lewis with a GIVEAWAY

 

The Last Summerville
Annabelle Lewis
Publication date: September 1st 2026
Genres: Adult, Psychological Thriller, Romance, Suspense, Thriller

Twenty-two-year-old Georgia Parker already carries more regret than most people twice her age. Practically an orphan, she’s reeling from the death of her grandmother, Mimi—the one person who made her feel safe from the chaos of her mother’s world. Alone in Carson City, Nevada, Georgia is determined to start over, to stand on her own. Yet Mimi’s final words echo in her mind: Take risks. Trust people again. Be brave.

Then Heath Summerville steps into her life—charming, magnetic, protective, and so perfectly attuned to her needs it feels like fate. But the closer Georgia gets, the more she feels the pull of something she can’t name—something just beneath the surface of his charm.

Strange silences. Half-truths. High-society circles and an ancestral house that feels more like a trap than a refuge.

Lies are waiting to unravel. And by the time Georgia sees the truth, it might already be too late.

Goodreads / Amazon

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CHAPTER 1:

“Get me out of this godforsaken town and back to civilization,” Vicky grumbled.

Georgia, behind the wheel, glanced at her mom, Vicky, who was shakily applying lipstick while looking in a handheld compact mirror. Vicky clicked it shut, then pulled down the passenger visor, only to find the old car devoid of a larger mirror. She swatted it back up, then garbled a sound of exasperation before diving back into her purse in search of something else.

Georgia didn’t see the lure of Las Vegas like her mother did. It was one of many differences between them. “No!” she suddenly exclaimed when Vicky put a cigarette to her lips, intending to light it. “Not in the car.”

“Why are you such an old damn scold, Georgia?” Vicky scowled. “You’re twenty-two years old, for fuck’s sake. Your holier-than-thou bullshit has gotten worse. Every time I see you.”

Vicky shook her head, then turned to stare out the window. Georgia swallowed back the words she wanted to throw in her mom’s face.

Not today. Not after all they’d been through.

They spent the rest of the drive to the Carson City airport in awkward silence. Georgia pulled to the curb at the departures area and then walked to the back of the Ford Bronco to help retrieve the bags. Vicky took them, mumbled goodbye, and walked away without a hug.

“Goodbye, Mom,” Georgia called loudly as she shivered in the cold, standing next to the back of her Mimi’s Bronco. She watched Vicky drag her bag, her head bowed, her eyes already on her phone. She didn’t turn to give Georgia one last look of goodbye, nor acknowledge Georgia’s use of the tender moniker of “mom,” rather than the usual “Vicky.” It hurt. But why Georgia expected Vicky to suddenly become maternal was the bigger question. And neither of them had made falsely loving or empty promises to keep in touch.

Author Bio:

Annabelle Lewis—a pseudonym for the author—lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Regrettably? Perhaps. She still believes she’s a Texan even though the math no longer supports that. Nor her birthplace. Nor her residence. No offense, Minnesota. You’ve got your good points too, but only about six months of the year.

In her youth, Annabelle was a complete failure. Ask anyone who knew her. Any of her teachers and family would tell you this. High school graduation was a sad day for all when Annabelle walked proudly off the high school stage, her thoughts consumed with boys, beer, and after-parties, and later into the arms of her parents. Her father’s laughter and singular remark? “I didn’t think you’d make it. Get a job at the post office, they have a good retirement plan.”

A high bar and words to live by, but Annabelle wanted more. She needed to flunk out of college too. But damn, she sure did have a good time. Trivial arrest records not-withstanding, it was a growth period for our girl. And if you look closely, you’ll see a bit of what was to come when she majored in criminal justice. Her lifelong aspiration was to become a judge. Hmm.

For better or worse, Annabelle didn’t graduate from college but did find gainful employment and a fulfilling career. This path ended when she became a mom. Married to her wonderful George, who to this day can hardly remember an actual proposal, Annabelle finally became a mother. She didn’t have a clue how hard she would need to work to keep those self-imposed requirements of Downey-fresh, iron-pressed sheets, home-baked meals, and mom-of-the-year awards arriving. She composed a small self-affirmation song and made her children sing it to her for money. She was a very good mom.

After clearing the largest hurdles of motherhood and regrettably, begrudgingly, and not-without-tears, launching her children onto the world, she looked around and realized she had a lot to say. Picking up a laptop, she got to work.

Annabelle spends her days continuing to tackle the challenges of motherhood, for both her humans and canines. She also writes. And reads. And cleans. And cooks. And bakes. And cleans again. She also supports her husband, George, in an administrative capacity for their small business. She’s in charge of payroll and cuts George’s checks. This leads to no marital acrimony.

In the beginning, with the blank page staring at her and possibly in a hostile mood after being literally mauled by a dog and by the world in general, she had an idea. What if she could wield a force of good upon unsuspecting evil-doers? What if she had the resources to get the job done without dealing with committee and anyone else’s whiney-ass opinions?

It was gold. It took off. Annabelle sat down and began to write and couldn’t stop. To date, having written over a million words in the Carrows Family Chronicles and her second series on the Boston Clairvoyants, several items have become quite clear. Annabelle had a lot to say. Annabelle really enjoys writing. And although she hates all things technology, she begrudgingly pounds her head on her desk daily as obstacles are thrown in her path. Almost a hero.

Since entering her world of make-believe, she has rebelled against all intrusion of real-world responsibilities. Her house is a mess, but she tries. Her family is fed, but more often than not, on takeout. She vows to shower every day, but no, it’s a vow she’ll never keep. Her friends are neglected, but not in her heart.

Read her mordacious blog! Read her books! Follow her on social platforms! Sign up for her newsletter! These are all good things. What are you waiting for? Jump into bed with Annabelle. She’s having a swell time. You should join her. theannabellelewis.com annabellelewisauthor@gmail.com IG and Twitter: alewisauthor

GIVEAWAY!

The Last Summerville Blitz

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Audiobook Review for Unleashed by Janice Whiteaker

 

The Bradshaw Brothers #4

Unleashed by Janice Whiteaker

Published:  August 28, 2026

Genre:  Contemporary Romance, Audiobook

Taken from Goodreads:  Trevor Bradshaw is the most annoying man I’ve ever met.

He’s arrogant, demanding, and unyielding. Has serious control issues, no sense of humor, and zero patience.
He also accidentally rocked my world in my best friend’s bathroom.
During her wedding reception.
It’s a mistake I won’t be making again. I have more important things to focus on than what he hides beneath a bespoke suit and a frown.
Things like caring for my sister. I’m all she has, and I won’t let anything, or anyone, distract me from giving her the best childhood I can.
One that’s as different from mine as I can make it.
But Trevor doesn’t seem to like knowing I’m on my own. It bothers him in a way I don’t expect.
No one has ever cared about me or my struggles, so when he starts doing things that are a little… questionable, I don’t mind it as much as I should.
Apparently stalking is my love language.
But it’s the way he treats my sister that makes it impossible to stand my ground. The two of them are thick as thieves from day one. BFFs, complete with matching bracelets and inside jokes.
Now he’s sleeping on my couch and cooking in my kitchen. Mowing my grass and helping with laundry. Invading my home, my life…
And my bed.
Which might not be such a bad thing since someone else is lurking in the shadows.
Someone who will do anything to get what they want.

My Thoughts:  These Bradshaw Brothers are something else.   They are alpha males with the deep need to protect what they consider theirs.   Trevor has decided Maren is his, whether she wants to be or not.   Maren comes with a little girl that quickly has Trevor wrapped around her little fingers. 

I love that the characters from the other books in this series make appearances.   It is fun to catch up with their lives and see that they are still as amazing as they were when I read their books.   The best part is, if you have not read other books in this series, it is not an issue.  Each book is its own complete story.

I listened to this book rather than reading it.   The narrators are amazing.   I felt Trevor and Maren come alive as I listened to the dual narrations.  I could have listened to the book in one sitting but life got in the way and I had to take breaks.   I just kept thinking about the story and wanting to get back to listening. 

Thank you Hambright PR for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. 

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

Purchase your own copy on Amazon

Book Review for Paper Ghosts by Sarah Addison Allen

 

Paper Ghosts by Sarah Addison Allen

Published:  September 1, 2026 by St. Martin's Press

Genre: Magical Realism, Fantasy

 Taken from Goodreads:  Part ghost story, part love story and steeped in magical realism, Paper Ghosts will transport you to a place where old secrets echo through the years and love finds a way of bringing us home.

Every family has its secrets . . .The Wester women live inside theirs.

For decades, the women of Wester House have unsettled and fascinated their small, timeless North Carolina town. Their home is full of whispers, old griefs, and uncanny knowing. But when Willamena Wester reaches out to the granddaughter she once pushed away, long-buried truths begin to stir.

1976:

Restless young Willamena falls for a stranded musician who brings freedom and the promise of another life to her carefully controlled world. Their brief, incandescent love story promises to escape the pull of the Wester legacy until Willamena makes a fateful choice that changes her life forever.

Present Day:

Returning home is the last thing Bailey Wester wants. Yet as she reconnects with Willamena, the grandmother she feared, Bailey begins to understand the love, heartbreak, and impossible choices that shaped the women in her family and realizes the past may not have been trying to haunt them after all.

A luminous novel filled with Sarah Addison Allen’s stunning prose and signature blend of romance, Southern charm, and wonder, Paper Ghosts reminds us that in order to have the future we really want, sometimes we need to live with the past, and not let go of it.

My Thoughts:  Paper Ghosts is a book about family and the length a grandmother will go to protect their family.  Every family has secrets but in Paper Ghosts the house holds many more secrets. 

Sarah Addison Allen wrote a dark gothic story.   I felt the creepiness of The Wester House.  I felt like the house was a character in the story.   The women who live in the house have a magical way to know the secret of the people in their town and they use those secrets to protect their family. 

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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